About Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the founder of the Sikh religion and the first of the 10 Sikh Gurus. Guru Nanak was a visionary and a great soul. He is also called "one of the greatest religious innovators of all time". Guru Nanak Dev Ji is the last in the series of the greatest saints born on earth who founded major world religions through their teachings and revelations. His Birthday is celebrated as Gurupurab.
Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was born in a Hindu family on 15 April 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī (present day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore. His father’s name was Kalyan Chand Das Bedi (popularly called” Mehta Kalu“) was the local patwari (a tax collector) in the village of Talwandi. Guru Nanak mother’s name was Mata Tripta. He named after his older sister Nanaki.

Guru Nanak charmed everyone who got it touch with him right starting from his birth. The midwife who attended Guru Nanak’s birth saw that instead of the usual birth cry the child was smiling. The Pandit who was called in by the family to predict Guru Nanak’s fortune was amazed to find the extraordinary stars of the boy and prophesized that Guru Nanak would grow up to be a spiritual leader.

Guru Nanak started exhibiting signs of his greatness in early on in childhood. He showed particular interest in spiritual matters.When Guru Nanak was 5 years old, he spoke in detail about God and his spiritual existence much to the surprise of others. Guru Nanak shocked his parents and villagers by questioning the meaningless rituals performed in the name of religion. There many childhood stories of his greatness listed below:

School

Grazing Cattles

Shade of Cobra

At the age of fifteen Guru Nanak had mastered languages like Hindi, Persian, Punjabi, and Sanskrit. He also moved to Sultanpur where his sister Bebe Nanaki was married. In 1485, Guru Nanak started working under Daulat Khan Lodhi, the employer of his brother in law the Muslim ruler of the area of Sultanpur. This marked an important period in his life that alludes to the governmental structure in his future hymns.Guru Nanak executed his job well, as he was a hardworking person. While working also Guru Nanak astonished people around him with his greatness, stories of his youth are listed below:

True Bargain

Wearing Janaiyoo (The Secret Thread)

Physician and Guru Nanak

The Modi of Sultanpur

On 24 September 1487, Guru Nanak was married to Mata Sulakkhani from Batala. The couple had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand. The year 1496 by all accounts was the year of his enlightenment when he started on his mission.One morning he went to bathe in the Kali Bein or Black River he walked into the river suddenly disappeared and returned after three days, revealing that he had a vision of God in which he was enlightened. From this point onwards, people started calling him “Guru Nanak”.

After enlightenment, Guru Nanak lost all interest in all worldly affairs. He told his family that God had called him to convey His (God’s) divine message to All. He left his family in the care of his parents and left on a missionary journey to spread God's message. During his lifetime, Guru Nanak went on four missionary journeys (udasis) spanning more than 28,000 kilometers. During this, Guru Nanak founded the religion of Sikhism that stresses the principle of equality of all humans and rejects discrimination based on caste, creed, and gender. The core of teaching in Sikhism is the belief that “God almighty is One”.

Guru Nanak’s four missionary journeys along with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana include many great stories that are listed below:

Lalo and Malik Bhago

Haridwar

Sajjan, The Swindler

Kauda, The Eater of Men

Whirlink Mecca

Vali Kandhari

In last years of his life, Guru Nanak returned home after his long travels and settled in Kartarpur. Guru Nanak continued his duties toward God until the very end. Towards the end of his life,Guru Nanak appointed his disciple Bhai Lehna as his successor. Lehna was then renamed “Angad” and designated as Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru, after Guru Nanak’s death.Guru Nanak took his last breathe on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, at the age of 70. It is said that Guru Nanak's body vanishing after his death. Sikhism is now the 5th largest organized religion in the world, with more than 30 million devotees who follow Guru Nanak's teaching “God is One” and “Everyone is Equal”.